Apparatus for tufting spaced rows of loop pile and cut pile

ABSTRACT

A multiple-needle tufting machine in which the needles are spaced transversely of the machine, and preferably staggered in two transverse rows, and having a plurality of loop pile hooks for cooperating with the needles in one transverse row and a row of cut pile hooks for cooperating with the needles in the other transverse row. The loop pile hooks are mounted so that their bills point in the direction of feeding, while the cut pile hooks are mounted so that their bills point in the opposite direction and toward the loop pile hooks. A reciprocal looper apparatus is provided for moving the loop pile hooks and cut pile hooks toward each other for cooperating with their respective needles in their lowermost position for forming loops on the respective hooks, and for moving the loop pile hooks and cut pile hooks away from each other upon the upstroke of the needles for releasing the respective loops to form spaced rows of loop pile stitching and cut pile stitching. A reciprocal knife is provided for cooperating with each of the cut pile hooks.

United States Patent 91 Card et al.

[ Nov. 18, 1975 APPARATUS FOR TUFIING SPACED ROWS OF LOOP PILE AND CUT PILE [75] Inventors: Roy T. Card, Chattanooga; Rodney E. Hill, Hixson, both of Tenn.

[73] Assignee: Card & Co., Inc., Chattanooga,

Tenn.

22 Filed: Oct.16, 1974 21 Appl. No; 515,171

[52] US. Cl 112/79 R [51] Int. Cl. DOSC 15/22; DOSC 15/24 [58] Field of Search 112/79, 79 A, 78, 64

[56] 7 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,889,791 6/1959 Fedevich 112/79 R 2,990,792 7/1961 Nowicki et a] 1 12/79 A 3,019,748 2/1962 Card 112/79 A 3,879,729 4/l975 McCutcheon 112/79 R Primary E.\'aminer-H. Hampton Hunter Attorney, Agent, or F irm-Harrington A. Lackey [57] ABSTRACT A multiple-needle tufting machine in which the needles are spaced transversely of the machine, and preferably staggered in two transverse rows, and having a plurality of loop pile hooks for cooperating with the needles in one transverse row and a row of cut pile hooks for cooperating with the needles in the other transverse row. The loop pile hooks are mounted so that their bills point in the direction of feeding, while the cut pile hooks are mounted so that their bills point in the opposite direction and toward the loop pile hooks. A reciprocal looper apparatus is provided for moving the loop pile hooks and cut pile hooks toward each other for cooperating with their respective needles in their lowermost position for forming loops on the respective hooks, and for moving the loop pile hooks and cut pile hooks away from each other upon the upstroke of the needles for releasing the respective loops to form spaced rows of loop pile stitching and cut pile stitching. A reciprocal knife is provided for cooperating with each of the cut pile hooks.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 18,1975 Sheet10f2 3,919,953

w ME

6% MW NM US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 Sheet2of2 3,919,953

APPARATUS FOR TUFTING SPACED ROWS OF LOOP PILE AND CUT PILE Background of the Invention This invention relates to a tufting machine, and more particularly to a tufting machine for forming spaced rows of loop pile stitching and cut pile stitching.

Heretofore, tufted fabrics including spaced rows of loop pile stitching and cut pile stitching have been formed in various ways. One method is to run a base fabric through a tufting machine to form spaced rows of loop pile stitching and then run the same fabric through a second tufting machine to form rows of cut pile stitching transversely offset between the rows of loop pile stitching.

Another method of forming rows of cut pile stitching and rows of loop pile stitching is disclosed in the prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,019,748 of J. L. Card, issued Feb. 6, 1962, in which loop pile hooks are transversely offset from the cut pile hooks-and the loop pile hooks are provided with loop stripper fingers since the bills are pointing in the same direction.

The McCutcheon U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,729 discloses a pair of loopers pointing toward each other and adapted to be moved toward and away from each other to cooperate with a single needle, but the loopers do not move toward and away from each other simultaneously, and one looper is designed to catch and hold the loop for engagement by the other looper.

Fedevich U.S. Pat. No. 2,889,791 discloses two rows of staggered needles, and a pair of corresponding rows of looper hooks. However, the looper hooks are pointing in the same direction to form only loop pile.

The Nowicki U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,792 discloses a row of cut pile hooks and a row of loop pile hooks pointing toward each other and adapted to move toward and away from each other, but the loop pile hooks are spaced above the cut pile hooks so that the hooks cooperate with different yarn loops passing through vertically spaced eyes in the same needle, so that one row of loop pile is stitched or superimposed upon another row of cut pile loops.

Summary of the Invention It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a tufting machine preferably having staggered needles in two transverse rows and a looper apparatus having a row of loop pile hooks and a row of opposed cut pile hooks adapted to move toward each other and away from each other simultaneously for cooperating with the needles in the respective transverse rows for forming spaced rows of loop pile and cut pile stitching.

The looper apparatus includes a plurality of loop pile hooks mounted in a loop pile hook bar and a plurality of opposed cut pile hooks mounted in a cut pile hook bar. The hook bars are connected through appropriate linkage to the single conventional transverse looper shaft. The linkage is so arranged that each time the looper shaft is reciprocated or rotated in one direction, the hook bars will move toward each other, and each time the looper shaft rotates in the opposite direction, the hook bars simultaneously move away from each other. The knife shaft is also timed with the looper shaft to cause each knife to cooperate with a cut pile hook for severing a loop on the cut pile hook for each stroke of the needle.

The needles are preferably staggered, not only to provide a narrower gauge stitching, but also to permit the loop pile hooks to cooperate with their respective needles, without interfering with the simultaneous cooperation of the cut pile hooks with their respective needles, particularly when the bills of all the hooks are moving toward each other at substantially the same level or pile height, in a preferred form of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a portion of a tufting machine incorporating this invention, disclosing the needles and the hooks in their loop-forming positions, without the yarns;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation of the needles and looper apparatus disclosed in FIG. 1, with the yarns disclosed;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, disclosing the needles in their uppermost position and the loopers in their retracted positions;

FIG. 4 is a schematic fragmentary plan sectional view of the needles and books as the hooks approach the needles;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified form of needle bar; and

FIG. 6 is a section taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring now to the drawings in more detail, FIGS. 1-3 disclose a typical needle bar 10 supporting a plurality of needles 11 in a first or front transverse row and a plurality of needles 12 in a second or rear transverse row spaced longitudinally rearward of the front row of needles 11. The needle bar 10 is adapted to reciprocably move between its lower position disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 and its upper position disclosed in FIG. 3 by a push rod 13 driven by conventional means, hidden in the upper housing 14 of the tufting machine 15.

As best disclosed in FIG. 4, the needles 11 in the front row and the needles 12 in the back row are alternately staggered transversely of the tufting machine 15.

Supported upon a needle plate 17 for movement longitudinally from front-to-rear in a feeding direction through the tufting machine 15 is a base fabric 18. Each needle 11 carries a yarn 19 and each needle 12 carries a yarn 20 through the base fabric 18 upon each stroke of the needle bar 10.

The looper apparatus 22 made in accordance with this invention includes a plurality of first loop pile hooks 23 and a plurality of second cut pile hooks 24, there being one loop pile hook 23 for each front needle 11 and a cut pile hook 24 for each rear needle 12. Each loop pile hook 23 includes a shank 25 mounted in a slot 26 in a loop pile hook bar 27. The slots 26 in the hook bar 27 preferably have the same uniform spacing as the spacing between the front needles 11. The loop pile hook 23 also includes a bill 28 pointing in the direction of fabric feeding indicated by the arrow 29.

Each cut pile hook 24 is also provided with a shank 31 adapted to be received in a corresponding slot 32 in a cut pile hook bar 33. The slots 32 have the same uniform spacing as the rear needles 12, so that each cut pile hook 24 may cooperate with a rear needle 12. The cut pile hook 24 is also provided with a throat portion 34 and a hooked bill 35 pointing in the direction oppo- 3 site from the direction of fabric feeding and pointing toward the loop pile hooks 23.

The loop pile hook bar 27 is fixed to a mounting plate 37 having a plurality of transversely spaced set screws 38, only one of which is disclosed in FIG. 1, extending through a vertical slot 39 in a bracket 40, which in turn is fixed to the upper end of a lever arm 42 forming a portion of a lever member 43. The lever member 43 comprises a journal block 44 having a bushing 45 freely rotatably supported upon an idler shaft 46 mounted in the lower housing 47 of the tufting machine 15. The lever member 43 also includes a rearwardly disposed lever arm 48 having a longitudinal slot 49 for adjustably receiving a set screw or pin 50 on one end of the link arm 51. The upper end of the link arm 51 is pivotally connected to the outer extremity of a radial arm 52 by pivot pin 53. The radial arm 52 is fixed upon the reciprocably rotatable looper shaft 55. The looper shaft 55 is reciprocably rotated by conventional means, not shown, operatively connected to the means for reciprocating the needle push rod 13 so that the hooks 23 and 24 reciprocate in timed relation with the needles 11 and 12.

Circumferentially spaced approximately 90 counterclockwise of the radial arm 52 is another radial arm 56, which is also axially spaced from the radial arm 52 and also fixed to the looper shaft 55. Pivotally connected by pin 57 to radial arm 56 is a link arm 58, the opposite end of which is pivotally connected by pin 59 to a rocker arm 60. The upper end of the rocker arm 60 is fixed to the transverse cut pile hook bar 33, while the lower end of the rocker arm 60 is fixed to the idler shaft 46.

Adapted to cooperate with each cut pile hook 24 is a knife 62 supported in knife holder 63. The knife holders 63 are fixed to knife block 64, which in turn is fixed to the knife shaft 65 adapted to be reciprocably rotated in timed relationship with the looper shaft 55, by means not shown, in a conventional manner. As disclosed in FIG. 2, the knife 62 is adapted to cut loops 70 formed by each rear needle 12 upon the bill 35 of the cut pile hook 24 while the cut pile hook 24 is in its forwardmost operative position, to form cut pile tufts 71.

By adjusting the set screw 38 in the vertical slot 39 of the bracket 40, the loop pile hook bar 27 and the loop pile hooks 23 may be vertically adjusted relative to the front needles 11 in order to adjust the pile height of the loops 72 formed by the needles 11 and their cooperative hooks 23 from the front yarn 19.

The gauge of the needle 11 and 12 may also be adjusted by having needle holes of different spacing in the needle bar 10.

FIGS. and 6 disclose another form of needle bar 80 split into needle bar sections 81 and 82 and held together by a. strap 83 fixed to the needle bar section 81 by bolt 84 and adjustably secured to the needle bar section 82 by means of the elongated slot 85 and adjustable bolt 86. Thus, by adjusting the bolt 86 in the slot 85, the needle bar section 82 may be moved forward or rearward relative to the needle bar section 81 in order to adjust the stagger of the needles 11 and 12.

In the operation of the machine 15, the base fabric 18 is fed from front to rear through the machine in the direction of the arrow 29 beneath the needles 11 and 12 and over the needle plate 17. When the needles l1 and 12 are in their elevated position disclosed in FIG. 3, the corresponding loop pile hooks 23 and cut pile hooks 24 have moved away from each other to their retracted or release positions, while the knife 62 has retracted away from its cutting position against the bill 35. The needles l1 and 12 then move downward, penetrating the base fabric 18, carrying with them their respective yarns 19 and 20. As the needles 11 and 12 descend to substantially their lowermost position disclosed in FIG. 2, the loop pile hooks 23 move rearward across their respective needles 11 to catch the yarns 19 preparatory to forming the uncut loops 72. Simultaneously, the cut pile hooks 24 are moved forward across their respective needles 12 to catch the yarns 20 preparatory to forming the cut pile loops 70. As the needles 11 and 12 rise, the respective hooks 23 and 24 hold the yarns 19 and 20 upon their respective bills 28 and 35 until the needles 11 and 12 have ascended above the base fabric 18. During this time, the movement of the base fabric 18 in the direction of the arrow 29 tends to pull the uncut loops 72 off the free ends of the bills 28, while the bills 28 are retracting or moving forward to their inoperative positions, while the loops move rearward along the bills 35 toward the closed end of the cut pile hook 24 and into cutting position by the knife 62. As disclosed in FIG. 2, the uncut loops 70 accumulate upon the bill 35 until they are cut at the rear end of the bill 35 to form cut pile tufts 71.

By staggering the needles 11 and 12 as disclosed in FIG. 4, a tufted fabric having a narrower gauge, or more closed spaced stitching, is provided. Furthermore, the staggering of the needles l1 and 12 permits the hooks 23 and 24 moving toward each other to cross their respective needles with the tips of the bills 28 and 35 stopping just prior to engagement. Because of the narrow gauge of the needles 11 and 12 and the hooks 23 and 24, even though the hooks 23 and 24 are staggered, nevertheless the tips of the hooks 23 and 24 might engage each other if they had to cross each other because of the narrowness of the needle gauge and the thickness of the respective hooks. It will be observed in FIG. 4, that the needles are slanted in a conventional manner, in such a manner that an adjacent loop pile hook 23 and cut pile hook 24 will cam to the same side of thier respective needles and therefore be deflected slightly from their normal direction of movement, thereby causing possible collision of these hooks should they have to cross each other.

In FIG. 1, it will be observed that when the looper shaft 55 rotates in a clockwise direction, the radial arm 52 will also move clockwise to force down the link arm 51 and lever arm 48, thereby causing the opposite lever arm 42 to move rearward, thereby causing the loop pile hook bar 27 and loop pile hooks 23 also to move rearward into operative position crossing their respective needles 1 1.

Simultaneously, as the looper shaft 55 is rotated clockwise, the other radial arm 56 will move to the right or toward the front to force forward the link arm 58 and rocker arm 60 as well as the cut pile hook bar 33 and cut pile hooks 24 to cross their respective needles 12.

When the looper shaft 55 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, the corresponding radial arms 52 and 56 are likewise rotated in the same counterclockwise direction. The radial arm 52 will then pull up upon the link arm 51 and the lever arm 48 causing the opposite lever arm 42 to move toward the right or the front of the machine, pulling the loop pile hook bar 27 and the loop pile hooks 23 forward away from their operative positions relative to the needles 11. Simultaneously, the counterclockwise rotation of the radial arm 56 pulls the link arm 58, rocker arm 60 and cut pile hook bar 33 rearward. Accordingly, the cut pile hooks 24 will be'moved rearwardly away from their cooperative positions with the corresponding needles 12, as disclosed in FIG. 3.

It has been found that this arrangement of the needles and hooks in a multiple-needle tuftin g machine operates quite satisfactorily for producing spaced rows of cut pile stitching and loop pile stitching, and particularly alternating rows of cut pile stitching and loop pile stitching on a very narrow gauge, with a minimum of operating mechanism in the looper apparatus 22 below the needle plate 17. Moreover, a looper apparatus has been provided in which all of the looper hooks are moved simultaneously in opposite reciprocal directions for cooperation with their respective needles from a single looper shaft.

What is claimed is:

l. A tufting machine for forming spaced rows of loop pile stitching and cut pile stitching having means for supporting a base fabric for longitudinal movement in a feeding direction through said machine, comprising:

a. a plurality of first and second reciprocal needles for introducing yarns through the base fabric to form loops, said needles being spaced apart substantially transversely of the feeding direction,

b. a looper apparatus comprising a plurality of loop pile hooks and a plurality of cut pile hooks, there being one hook for each of said needles,

c. said looper apparatus comprising means mounting said loop pile hooks adjacent said fabric supporting means so that the bills of said loop pile hooks point in said feeding direction and each of said loop pile hooks cooperates with a first said needle to form a loop pile loop,

d. said looper apparatus further comprising means mounting said out pile hooks adjacent said fabric supporting means so that the bills of said cut pile hooks point in the direction opposite said feeding direction and each of said cut pile hooks cooperates with a second said needle to form a cut pile loop,

e. a knife for each cut pile hook,

f. means supporting each said knife for reciprocal cooperative movement with a corresponding cut pile hook to cut a cut pile loop and form a cut pile tuft,

g. said looper apparatus further comprising reciprocal motive means for moving said loop pile hooks and said cut pile hooks simultaneously toward each other to cooperate with said respective first and second needles in a lowermost reciprocal position penetrating the base fabric to form said respective loops, and for moving said loop pile hooks and said cut pile hooks simultaneously away from each other when said first and second needles are in an elevated position to release and out said respective loops.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said base fabric is fed in said feeding direction from frontto-rear through said tufting machine, said needles being staggered so that said first needles are in a front transverse row and said second needles are in a rear transverse row spaced behind said front row, said loop pile hooks and said out pile hooks being correspondingly staggered.

3. The invention according to claim 1 further comprising reciprocal motive means supporting said needles for carrying said yarn loops to an equal depth beneath said fabric supporting means, said loop pile hook and cut pile hook mounting means supporting the bills of said respective hooks to coooperate with said respective needles at substantially the same level.

4. The invention according to claim 1 in which each knife cooperates with its corresponding cut pile hook to cut said out pile loop while said out pile hook is in its position cooperating with said corresponding second needle.

5. The invention according to claim 1 in which said looper apparatus comprises a single, reciprocal, transverse looper shaft, said means mounting said loop pile hooks comprising a transverse loop pile hook bar and said means mounting said out pile hooks comprising a transverse cut pile hook bar, and link means operatively connecting said single looper shaft with each of said hook bars to cause said hook bars to move toward each other when said looper shaft rotates in one direction and to move said hook bars away from each other when said looper shaft rotates in the opposite direction.

6. The invention according to claim 5 in which said link means comprises a lever member pivotally mounted upon a transverse pivotal axis on said machine, said lever member having a first end fixed to said loop pile hook bar and a second end operatively connected to said looper shaft, and a link arm having one end connected to said out pile hook bar and its opposite end operatively connected to said looper shaft.

7. The invention according to claim 6 further comprising first and second radial arms fixed to said looper shaft and projecting radially from said looper shaft at circumferentially spaced points, pivotal connecting means connecting said first radial arm to the second end of said lever member, and means pivotally connecting the opposite end of said link arm to said second radial arm.

8. The invention according to claim 7 further comprising an idler shaft mounted on said machine for rotary movement, said lever member being journaled upon said idler shaft for free rotary movement, so that the pivotal axis of said lever member coincides with the longitudinal axis of said idler shaft, a rocker arm having one end portion fixed to said idler shaft and the other end portion fixed to said out pile hook bar, said one end of said link bar being pivotally connected to said rocker shaft.

9. The invention according to claim 4 further comprising a second link bar having one end pivotally connected to the second end of said lever member and the opposite end pivotally connected to said first radial arm.

10. The invention according to claim 1 further comprising a needle bar having first and second sections, said first section supporting a transverse row of said first needles and said second section supporting a second transverse row of said second needles, and means for adjustably connecting said first and second sections for varying the stagger spacing between said first and second rows of needles. 

1. A tufting machine for forming spaced rows of loop pile stitching and cut pile stitching having means for supporting a base fabric for longitudinal movement in a feeding direction through said machine, comprising: a. a plurality of first and second reciprocal needles for introducing yarns through the base fabric to form loops, said needles being spaced apart substantially transversely of the feeding direction, b. a looper apparatus comprising a plurality of loop pile hooks and a plurality of cut pile hooks, there being one hook for each of said needles, c. said looper apparatus comprising means mounting said loop pile hooks adjacent said fabric supporting means so that the bills of said loop pile hooks point in said feeding direction and each of said loop pile hooks cooperates with a first said needle to form a loop pile loop, d. said looper apparatus further comprising means mounting said cut pile hooks adjacent said fabric supporting means so that the bills of said cut pile hooks point in the direction opposite said feeding direction and each of said cut pile hooks cooperates with a second said needle to form a cut pile loop, e. a knife for each cut pile hook, f. means supporting each said knife for reciprocal cooperative movement with a corresponding cut pile hook to cut a cut pile loop and form a cut pile tuft, g. said looper apparatus further comprising reciprocal motive means for moving said loop pile hooks and said cut pile hooks simultaneously toward each other to cooperate with said respective first and second needles in a lowermost reciprocal position penetrating the base fabric to form said respective loops, and for moving said loop pile hooks and said cut pile hooks simultaneously away from each other when said first and second needles are in an elevated position to release and cut said respective loops.
 2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said base fabric is fed in said feeding direction from front-to-rear through said tufting machine, said needles being staggered so that said first needles are in a front transverse row and said second needles are in a rear transverse row spaced behind said front row, said loop pile hooks and said cut pile hooks being correspondingly staggered.
 3. The invention according to claim 1 further comprising reciprocal motive means supporting said needles for carrying said yarn loops to an equal depth beneath said fabric supporting means, said loop pile hook and cut pile hook mounting means supporting the bills of said respective hooks to coooperate with said respective needles at substantially the same level.
 4. The invention according to claim 1 in which each knife cooperates with its corresponding cut pile hook to cut said cut pile loop while said cut pile hook is in its position cooperating with said corresponding second needle.
 5. The invention according to claim 1 in which said looper apparatus comprises a single, reciprocal, transverse looper shaft, said means mounting said loop pile hooks comprising a transverse loop pile hook bar and said means mounting said cut pile hooks comprising a transverse cut pile hook bar, and link means operatively connecting said single looper shaft with each of said hook bars to cause said hook bars to move toward each other when said looper shaft rotates in one direction and to move said hook bars away from each other when said looper shaft rotates in the opposite direction.
 6. The invention according to claim 5 in which said link means comprises a lever member pivotally mounted upon a transverse pivotal axis on said machine, said lever member having a first end fixed to said loop pile hook bar and a second end operatively connected to said looper shaft, and a link arm having one end connected to said cut pile hook bar and its opposite end operatively connected to said looper shaft.
 7. The inventiOn according to claim 6 further comprising first and second radial arms fixed to said looper shaft and projecting radially from said looper shaft at circumferentially spaced points, pivotal connecting means connecting said first radial arm to the second end of said lever member, and means pivotally connecting the opposite end of said link arm to said second radial arm.
 8. The invention according to claim 7 further comprising an idler shaft mounted on said machine for rotary movement, said lever member being journaled upon said idler shaft for free rotary movement, so that the pivotal axis of said lever member coincides with the longitudinal axis of said idler shaft, a rocker arm having one end portion fixed to said idler shaft and the other end portion fixed to said cut pile hook bar, said one end of said link bar being pivotally connected to said rocker shaft.
 9. The invention according to claim 4 further comprising a second link bar having one end pivotally connected to the second end of said lever member and the opposite end pivotally connected to said first radial arm.
 10. The invention according to claim 1 further comprising a needle bar having first and second sections, said first section supporting a transverse row of said first needles and said second section supporting a second transverse row of said second needles, and means for adjustably connecting said first and second sections for varying the stagger spacing between said first and second rows of needles. 